JOSH ST. CLAIR TAKES LATE MODEL SQUEAKER AT SPEEDWAY 95

A lap 28 spin by Jason Witts of Dixmont turned a choo-choo- train Late Model race into a seven lap shoot out with the top ten drivers jockeying for positions as they raced to the finish. Josh St. Clair of Liberty had led from the drop of the green, through a restart on lap 3, until the caution flew for Witts’ spin. On the restart, Ryan Deane of Winterport, who had been following St. Clair while fighting off a persistent threat from Steuben’s Brenton Parritt, out gunned St. Clair and took the lead for two laps. St. Clair went to the bottom and worked his way back past Deane, retaking the lead on lap 30. It wasn’t easy for St. Clair from there though, as Parritt followed him past Deane and challenged him for the lead over the last three laps. St. Clair held him off, as he passed under the checkered flag with Parritt’s bumper next to his door. While this was going on, Bangor’s Doug Day, who had spent the entire race on the inside groove working his way up one car at a time, also sneaked by Deane to take third. Deane finished in fourth with Duane Seekins of Stockton Springs finishing fifth. St. Clair also won the division’s 15 lap qualifier, putting on the pole for the feature.
Sport-Four feature winner Rick Grant of LaGrange spent the first twelve laps of the 20 lap event riding behind Keith Ogden of Dedham and Gary Richards of Exeter as they raced side by side for the lead. On the twelfth lap, however, Ogden and Richards came together on the backstretch and their cars locked together, causing them to go off the track until they could get untangled. The yellow flew, and Grant was on the pole for the restart. Grant put his Mustang out front and held it there to the end, but had to fight off a tough challenge from 2009 champion David Green of Hampden, who dogged Grant to the finish. Green finished second with Ogden recovering to come back through the field to finish third. Fourth went to Milo’s Steve Heath with Old Town’s David Shorey in fifth.
Strictly Street action saw a battle between the veteran Duane Seekins of Stockton Springs and the rookie Andrew McLaughlin of Harrington begin after a yellow flag on lap 9, caused when Jim Carr Jr. of Clifton and Shawn Hamel of Bangor ended up in the turn three wall, closed the field up for a restart. The battle for the lead began when the green flag flew, and McLaughlin chased Seekins for the win from that point to the end. Seekins was able to hold McLaughlin off for the win, with Mclaughlin finishing in second. Third went to Shawn Hamel II of Bangor with Shawn Racilla of Dover-Foxcroft finishing in fourth. Joe Allen of Levant was fifth.
Steve Moulton of Holden returned to the raceway following a three week suspension and picked up where he left off, dusting the Super Street field by half a lap for the win. Jeremy Glasier of Appleton picked up the second place trophy by keeping third place finisher Artie Maguire of Bucksport behind him for the entire distance. Pole Sitter Doug Sinclair finished in fourth after having the start at the rear with Moulton as the pair failed two attempts to start the race side by side. Greg Pung of Franklin finished fifth.
Racing action continues at Speedway 95 on Saturday August 14 with a full card of racing featuring the third race of the Strictly Street Coca-Cola series. Bradley Norris of Ellsworth currently leads the Coca Cola Series points battle by 6 points over Bangor’s Shawn Hamel II. Norris, the 2009 Strictly Street Champion, is only running the series races this year in the Strictly Streets, as he is competing regularly in the Sport-Four division.